The present invention relates to the field of medical devices for delivering acoustic shock waves, and in particular to a device for delivering acoustic shock waves having a removable, replaceable component with a data storage unit.
Medical devices frequently have items exposed to a great deal of wear or consumption. Therefore, it is desirable to place these high-wear items in separate removable and replaceable components connected with the basic device and replace them when necessary. In general, these components are identified by the manufacturer's embossed serial and/or lot numbers. This identification is documented at the manufacturing facility before delivery. Thus, while the component can be traced if it is returned to the manufacturer, no information is provided on the wear of the component during operation of the medical device.
To ensure the necessary safety when medical devices are in operation, it is necessary for the manufacturer and/or operator of the device to be continuously informed of the status of all the device components. This is particularly important for liability issues. It is especially important to replace parts that are consumable or exposed to wear promptly. Because wear and consumption are heavily dependent on the use of the device, for safety reasons replacement is usually done early and at fixed intervals regardless of actual use. This runs counter to economical use of the device components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,661 assigned to the assignee of the present invention discloses a medical device for application of acoustic shock waves in which a replaceable treatment head connected with a basic device has a memory that can be read by the basic device so that the operating values of the basic device can be adjusted to the specific treatment head being used. In addition, usage data on the treatment head such as total operating time, number of shots, and number of shots remaining for the service life are stored, and are read, processed, and displayed by the basic device. However, data exchange to and from the treatment head memory is possible only through the basic device.
Therefore, there is a need for a replaceable component such as for example a treatment head that stores usage data of the component, and can download/transmit data from the component head.